


The Core of the Matter

by neokid93



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Gen, In which they all get ghost powers, Male-Female Friendship, but not in a bad way, frostbite speaks in exclamations, trio and jazz being teenagers together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23940505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neokid93/pseuds/neokid93
Summary: Phic Phight 2020 Prompt fill!  An AU where Sam and/or Tucker also gain ghost powers.  At first Sam thought it was her imagination, but when she heals a plant, she has to accept that whatever is going on, she is the cause.  Tucker and Jazz are along for the ride and Danny is concerned. (Dalv-co-official's prompt)
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley & Sam Manson, Danny Fenton/Dan Phantom
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	The Core of the Matter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [betelgeuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/betelgeuse/gifts).



The Core of the Matter

Sam first noticed something was off when she started feeling emotions coming from her plants. At first she thought it was her imagination, then she thought maybe a ghost was messing with her, but when she was able to revive a nearly wilted flower with just her touch she had to accept that she was the source of whatever this was.  
She didn't tell Danny at first, she didn't want to worry him, but now that she seemed to be developing ghost powers of her own, she decided she had better consult with Tucker and bring it up with Danny. She put the pruning shears down on her workbench and exited her greenhouse. At this time of day, Danny would probably be doing his early morning patrol. Tucker was probably still up playing Doomed in the carryover of an overnight binge. She washed her hands and then slid into her computer seat once she reached her bedroom.  
She was right, Tucker was still online, grinding for some item or other on a medium level. She teleported to him and requested a party invite so she could voice chat with him. Once the invite was accepted she wasted no time getting to the point, "Hey Tucker, I just had something weird happen to me today with my greenhouse plants- like ghost weird." Tucker blasted apart a few more enemies before responding, "Like what kind of ghost weird? Accidentally plant a ghost seed? Was it a ghost pepper?"

"Haha very funny. No I was picking up a plant that was wilting and getting ready to transplant it when it perked up before my eyes and by time I had it in its new pot it was ridiculously healthy. I rescued the poor thing from a home and garden store, but even with attentive care, it takes more than a minute for a plant to recover."

"Ok, yeah that is pretty strange. Have you talked to Danny about it yet? This seems more like his area of expertise."

"I'm going to but I wanted to check with you first, have you had anything ghost-weird happen to you lately?" Sam asked as she vaporized a few weak monsters that tried to attack her.

"No, not since Technus hijacked my PDA a while back. Though, actually, I haven't had to charge Meredith in over a month. I thought it was some carry over from the possession but maybe it's something more."

"So do you think we're getting ghost powers? Because that would be totally cool, but neither of us have a good history when it comes to having ghost powers. I don't want to worry Danny but we might need to ask an actual ghost if we can't figure this out on our own."

"Yeah I can see that making him stress out. Maybe we should ask Jazz too? She might have an idea from listening to their parents go off about ghosts. I know Danny usually leaves when the dissection talk starts so he might have missed some information."

"That's a good idea, I'll message her once I get off Doomed. Try to be up by noon so we can all hang out."

"Will do." Tucker replied as he continued to mindlessly blast apart weak enemies in his quest for rare items.

Sam left the party and walked her character back to the teleportation point for the level. Once she was safely logged off of the game she pulled up quickMessage to get a hold of Jazz. 

Ever the early riser, Jazz was already online, with a status of 'The early worm reads the book'. Sam quickly typed up a greeting, "Hey Jazz, are you at the computer?"

"I sure am, I just finished reading an online article for the paper I'm working on." was the quick response.

"I have a potential issue I'd like your feedback on."

"Go on."

"I somehow healed one of my plants this morning and when I asked Tucker he said he hasn't had to charge his PDA in a few months. Have you had anything ghostly weird happen to you lately?"

The typing indicator lit up for a solid two minutes before a message came in, "Yes. Now that I think about it, I have. Sometimes when I talk with someone face-to-face, I think I hear some of their thoughts. Also, when I'm reading a book I've been getting bits of what I think were thoughts of the last person to read or hold it."

“Ok first off, that’s way cool. Second, I think we need to have a talk with Danny. Do you know if he’s up?”

“He must have just gotten back in from morning patrol, I can hear the shower running. When and where should we meet up?”

“I told Tucker to be up by noon, he’s still playing Doomed right now but he was getting off soon. Meet at the Nasty Burger? Or in the park?”

“I think the park would be better, less chance of being overheard. That one spot that you need ghost powers to get to easily?”

“Yeah sounds like a plan. Meet up around noon? And I’ll bring a picnic basket. Make sure Danny doesn’t know why we’re all hanging out way out there until we get there. Don’t want him to freak out on us before we are all together.”

“I’m alright with this because I know we’ll be telling him right away. Once he’s out of the shower I’ll let him know we’re meeting up there and the time. Once we’re all together he can fly us to the spot.”

“Ok, see you guys then.”

Jazz sent a thumbs up emote before going offline.

Sam sent a quick text message to Tucker letting him know the plan before signing off of the chat app as well and heading for the shower.

Once she was dressed in her favorite outfit she packed up a basket of both healthy food she grew or made herself, and junk food that would appeal to the boys. 

She killed the last couple of hours reading some poetry that she was peer reviewing for the next poetry slam at the Skulk and Lurk.

Once it was time to leave she snagged her packed basket and headed for the park.

It only took her a short walk to reach the entrance of the park and a further few minutes to meet up with Danny, Jazz, and Tucker in a secluded spot near a small pond.

Danny had a suspicious look on his face when she joined the group but still gave her a smile when they all linked arms to fly to their hang out spot.

Sam grinned as the fizzy, light, feeling of intangibility rushed over them before they flipped invisible and lifted off. Danny’s ghost powers always have a bit of an electric tingling like when someone was lightly running their nails over your skin. It gave her goosebumps, but in a good way.

‘It would be pretty amazing to have ghost powers of my own.’ She mused as they flew.

A few silent moments later and they gently touched down in a secluded clearing well away from any park visitors. Considering that if you didn’t have the ability to fly, the only way to get there was through an old and crumbling drainage pipe, they weren’t going to be bothered by anyone.

Danny transformed back to human and immediately started asking, “Ok, I know something’s up. We don’t usually hang out way out here unless we need to talk about ghost stuff. So what’s going on?” He looked between the three of them as they sat down and opened up the lunch basket.

“Calm down my dude, nothing is immediately wrong. Have a seat and we’ll get into it.” Tucker was the first to respond, patting the ground next to him before chomping a few of Sam’s homemade potato chips.

“Don’t worry so much Danny, I don’t think anything’s wrong. We do need to have a discussion about some things that are going on though.” Jazz said as she offered him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on untoasted bread.

Danny finally sat and once he was eating Sam spoke up, “So this morning I noticed something weird while working with my plants. I talked with Tucker and Jazz about it earlier, and I think we’re developing our own ghost powers.”

Danny started choking on his sandwich and Tucker had to pound his back for a moment before he was alright.  
“Ghost powers?” he wheezed once he was under control again.

“Yes. Ghost powers.” Sam deadpanned before breaking into a grin, “All three of us have had different things happening that seem like powers unique to ourselves. I’ve been able to feel emotions from my plants for a bit but didn’t notice until I healed a wilted one this morning.”

“Rescue plant?” Danny asked, knowing Sam’s opinion on Home and Garden stores and their care of plants. She nodded.

Jazz was next, “I’ve noticed that I’m picking up thoughts of the people around me and from previous holders of books and papers that I’m reading. Which is why I know you’re suspicious right now, but consider how slowly these have been developing, this points to them being particular to each of us and not the result of ghostly interference.”

Danny pulled a face, “That would make you a scary good psychologist,” before turning to Tucker, “And you Tuck?”

“I haven’t noticed much unusual myself, but I haven’t had to charge Meredith in months. Not since the last time Technus possessed her. I didn’t really think about it until this morning though so maybe other things have happened too.” He shrugged.

Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair, dropping breadcrumbs without realizing it. “I guess this is a thing that is happening. I can’t say I’m feeling too optimistic about this whole thing but you do have a point, these seem to really run in line with your interests.”  
He stood up, brushed crumbs off his lap, and said, “Well, if something ghostly is going on with you guys we should go get it checked out. The Far Frozen is the only place in the Ghost Zone that I’ve seen medical equipment so I guess that’s where we’ll go.”

“Doesn’t hurt that they’d be more than willing to help the ‘Great One’.” Tucker smirked as he also stood.  
“Ew! Tucker, don’t talk while you’re still eating!” Sam scolded as she wiped potato fragments off of herself. She was packing up the empty containers as Jazz asked Danny, “The Great One?”  
Danny just groaned and shook his head. Tucker helpfully filled her in, “When Danny saved everyone from Pariah Dark the people of the Far Frozen, who are huge yetis by the way, made drawings and now they call him the ‘Great One’. They were pretty happy that he stopped him from taking over the whole Ghost Zone. And you know, saved the world too.”

Jazz ruffled Danny’s hair, dislodging the crumbs, and said, “Aw you should accept that people appreciate you and want to thank you little brother.”

Danny made a halfhearted attempt at fending off her hands but they could all see that he was happy with the affection.  
“Alright,” he said as he they linked arms once more, “Next stop, FentonWorks. Good thing Mom and Dad are out on a ‘romantic’ paranormal getaway trip.” he grimaced slightly as he said the word “romantic”. They took off and made short time in reaching their destination.  
“Ok, if we’re actually getting powers, I want flight.” Tucker stated as they touched down in the kitchen.

Danny gave a small grin at that, “Yeah definitely my favorite power by far. Alright we’ll want the speeder, I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t want to have to fly all of us to the Far Frozen under my own power, it’d be too risky if another ghost wants to pick a fight. Also tiring, so yeah.” He finished lamely before going down the stairs to the lab.  
The rest of the group followed him down and Tucker slid into the driver’s seat. “If your parents went on a paranormal trip, why didn’t they take the speeder?” he asked.

Danny made a disgusted face, “It was a romantic paranormal getaway, I didn’t ask, and I don’t want to know.”

Jazz shook her head, “They just wanted to go on an old fashioned ghost hunting trip which meant no fancy weapons. I think they’re actually taking the scientific approach to this one instead of the violent one they’ve had in the past, and I’m glad for that. It means that they’re more likely to accept that not all ghosts are bad.”

“Yeah I guess, but I still don’t want to know any more.” Danny said.

Once they were all seated, they flew through the portal and towards the Far Frozen. They chatted about different ideas for the rest of the summer and Jazz’s college plans.

Tucker smoothly flew them to the Far Frozen, avoiding ghosts fairly easily by this point. He was considered the best at flying the speeder for a reason. He was also the only one other than Danny to actually know how to use all of the buttons.

They touched down on the snow with a light crunch and Danny flew out of the speeder in ghost form before the others could even get the door open. They were still putting their coats, mittens, and hats on while he greeted Frostbite.

“Great One! It is good to see you again!” Frostbite boomed as he swept Danny into a hug.  
“And Sam of the Very Vegan; Tucker, Lover of Meat; and who is this?” he asked as he met Jazz for the first time.

“I’m Jasmine, but I prefer to be called Jazz. I’m Danny’s older sister, it’s nice to meet you!” she held out her hand to shake and yelped as she was pulled into a hug.

“Jazz, sister of the Great One, it is wonderful to meet you!” Please all come inside and we shall hold a feast in your honor!” 

Danny spoke up, “As great as that sounds, we do actually need some help and advice. My sister and friends seem to be developing ghost powers of their own and I thought you would be able to check them out and find out what’s going on.”

“Of course! I would be delighted to help your companions! Please, follow me to our lab.” Frostbite led them to a short building and beckoned them inside.  
Inside was a large, technologically advance lab, complete with computers and various machinery that looked more advanced than the lab in FentonWorks.  
Danny ran his hand along the tank that he recovered in from his core freezing him when his ice powers developed.

“Now please, one at a time, stand in that marked circle and I shall scan you for ectoplasmic anomalies.” Frostbite pointed to a large metal circle that was embedded in the floor of the lab.  
Sam was the first to step forward. She walked to the center and asked, “Now what?”

“Just wait there for a moment while the machine scans you.” A few seconds later, the console beeped. “You may step from the circle and the next person may enter.”

Tucker went next and as soon as he was out Jazz followed suit. “Great One, we should scan you as well, it has been quite a while since the last time and it would be good to compare your scans with your companions.”  
Danny took a turn in the scanning circle as well and once they were all finished, they gathered around Frostbite by the display.

Frostbite hummed thoughtfully as he looked at the symbols flashing over the screen. He then pulled up a visual representation of each of their scans on the screen.  
“I believe I know what’s going on now. Your cores are developing. All of your companions have developed their own ghostly cores and as they grow, they are experiencing inconsistent power surges. That would cause them to manifest various ghostly powers.”  
On the screen it showed five scans, Danny’s old scan from when his ice powers developed, his current scan, and the other three pictures were of Sam, Tucker, and Jazz. Danny’s first picture had a fist sized flowing blue center, his second it was about half again as large, and much brighter. Sam had a bright green dot in her center, Tucker a small pulsing blue and yellow, and Jazz had a very light purple pinprick in her scan.  
“Those are ghost cores?” Jazz asked.

“Yes, they are very small right now, but if you nurture them properly, you will eventually be able to control your own powers and perhaps even develop a secondary form.” Frostbite said. “It is not unheard of; I believe your foe, Plasmius, had a similar incident that led to him becoming a halfa.” 

Danny finally relaxed upon knowing that this wasn’t some ghostly shenanigan being pulled by a ghost bent on causing chaos. “So this would have happened anyways, eventually?”

“Likely so,” Frostbite answered, “there was a possibility that the cores would have ceased developing early on if they did not have frequent enough exposure to ectoplasmic radiation, but we are well past the danger point of that now. It is likely that your presence, Great One, is what kept them from withering to nothing. As things are now, I recommend at least an hour a week spent in an ectoplasmic rich environment, such as the Ghost Zone, to keep them developing properly. This is a rare opportunity; you will have the ability to guide your growth in beneficial ways. Take some time to think about what is important to you and what the negative qualities those things may have. Doing so will help to avoid developing unhealthy obsessions or overly dangerous powers.”  
Sam was smiling as she asked, “Does this mean we’ll be able to choose what outfit we have when we get our own ghost forms?”

“Indeed it does, however you should take care not to try to force the change yourself. Once your cores have reached a sufficient size we can monitor you when you attempt to shift. That would be best done here where we can help if something goes wrong. Please come back and visit us every month so that we can keep an eye on your growth and answer any questions that you may have.”

“Thank you so much Frostbite,” Danny said as they left the lab building, “unfortunately we don’t have time to stay for a feast, we don’t want to be missed by our families.”

“No worries Great One! We can have a planned feast upon your next visit. I shall let the others know of these plans so that we will be prepared for your arrival in the next month’s time. Feel free to come beforehand if you find you have urgent questions or concerns.” Frostbite swept them all into a hug at the same time before releasing them. “Have a safe journey home!” He stood and waved as the teenagers boarded the Speeder and flew away.

As they flew home, they chattered excitedly about what outfits and powers they wanted to have.  
“I need a cape, capes are so Goth” Sam said.  
“No capes!” Tucker piped up in an Edna Mode voice.  
“If I can go intangible then capes are fine!” she argued back.

“At least patrol should be a lot easier whenever you guys get ghost forms, we’d be able to work together even better for fights.” Danny said.  
“Hey! I wonder if Skulker will find me less unique and desirable as a trophy now, or if he’ll want all of us individually?”

“I dunno dude, Vlad is a halfa too but Skulker doesn’t try to hunt him. I think he’ll want all of us.” Tucker said.  
Danny sulked but made a noise of agreement as they approached the Fenton Portal.  
“I guess we’ll find out eventually.”

**Author's Note:**

> Procrastination half-killed me here. I have a lot more ideas so someday I may add more to this, or at least edit it some more. Hope I got the name right for ao3 gifting.


End file.
